Our Willing Footsteps Meeting
by Mara Greengrass
Summary: Is a quiet night for Eliot at an out-of-the-way bar too much to ask? Apparently it is.


Title: Our Willing Footsteps Meeting

Summary: Is a quiet night for Eliot at an out-of-the-way bar too much to ask? Apparently it is.

Rating: R for language

Notes: For Tygermama's 2010 fandom stocking.

It was one of those little bars in the middle of nowhere. The kind of place that serves beer and some hard liquor and the jukebox has been broken since 1985. But for reasons he didn't care to examine, Eliot felt comfortable there, with a beer and no work to do.

And that was why Eliot was there. He wasn't entirely sure why Parker and Hardison were there, but he suspected they might be worried about him. Of course, being them, that meant they were annoying the shit out of him.

"Man, you're just lucky I've got a satellite hookup," Hardison muttered over the top of his laptop. "'Cause I don't think these folks know wifi from hifi."

Eliot snorted into his drink. "I wouldn't say that too loud. 'These folks' really hate bein' condescended to." His gaze drifted to the left. "Parker!"

She swerved away from the course that would have caused her to bump into the couple sitting at the bar and undoubtedly "accidentally" acquire their wallets. Looking over her shoulder, she radiated innocence at Eliot and he rolled his eyes. "Get your ass over here and don't cause any trouble."

The couple she'd almost stolen from both glanced over their shoulders at that, the woman's eyes narrowing slightly. Parker grinned at them. "His bark is worse than his bite. Not that he's bitten me, I mean. But I like his bark, so it's okay."

The woman smiled at that and the man coughed to cover a laugh, and Eliot took a moment to look at them. He'd been distracted when he came in, but now...damn if they didn't look and move, well, like military. No, not quite clean cut enough for that. Mercenaries, maybe?

Hardison seemed to sense his sudden tension and glanced up. "'Sup?"

"The two by Parker. You got the resources here to run a search?"

"Don't insult me. Of course I do." He shifted his computer around a bit as if he was trying to look at one of the ports, taking a picture as he did so. "Lemme see what I've got."

Parker sauntered over, pouting as she slid into the booth next to Eliot and poked him in the side. "You're no fun."

"I said I wanted a quiet evening, not one involving cops."

Glaring, she poked his side again. "I haven't been caught pickpocketing since I was seven."

Eliot rubbed his temples. Quiet evening. Right.

"Huh," Hardison said.

"What?"

Hardison turned the laptop so Eliot could see the screen. There was the guy, definitely. And he was right the first time, military. Air Force, huh?

"John Sheppard. Stationed in Colorado," Eliot said quietly. "I wonder what he's doing here."

"It can't have anything to do with us," Parker said. "We haven't run a military con in at least a year."

Hardison frowned.

"What?" Eliot looked at him.

"It could be nothing."

"What did you do?" His voice rose despite his efforts and the two they'd been talking about were definitely looking now.

Waving a hand, Hardison said, "Chill. I didn't do anything. Technically, Nate did something."

Eliot leaned forward until they were almost nose to nose. "Tell me what you're talking about or I will wipe every one of your goddamn backup drives with the biggest fucking magnet I can find."

"Hey, no need to get testy. I just mean the last con."

"The guy selling black market tech to the Pakistanis? He wasn't military."

"He used to be a civilian consultant to the military."

Parker juggled a few pretzels. "Yup, he worked for the Air Force."

Eliot stared at them. "And nobody told me this?"

Parker shrugged and chomped on a pretzel. "I only know 'cause I was in his safe."

"So, is it a coincidence that-"

Eliot never had a chance to finish the sentence because his peripheral vision told him that Col. Sheppard and partner were moving. He was up and in front of Parker and Hardison before they had a chance to recognize what was going on.

The woman held her hands up. "We are not your enemies." She shifted her body and, although her body language was strange, it was clearly meant to signal a resting state, so Eliot shifted to match her.

Col. Sheppard was about to say something when the front door to the bar opened. Eliot had to make a split second decision and he turned to face what was behind him, leaving his back open to the two of them.

It was a good choice, as the four thugs who came through the door were clearly planning to make it quick, with their guns already out. However, they obviously hadn't been properly briefed, because they weren't ready for Eliot.

He broke one guy's nose with a right hook and kicked a second in the nuts before he had time to aim, cursing as he waited to hear the gunshots and then...he realized nobody was shooting. And the other two guys were down as well, with the woman standing over them, barely breathing hard.

Col. Sheppard had a gun (and where did ithat/i come from?) pointed at the four on the ground. "Civilians have all cleared out the back. And thank you, Teyla."

"It was my pleasure, as always, John," she said with a smile. "And thank iyou,/i Mr. Spencer. It would have been a challenge to reach all of them before shots were fired."

"Right," he said. "And who the hell are you?"

"My name is Teyla Emmagen," she said, apparently unfazed by his rudeness. "And my companion is-"

"Col. John Sheppard, Air Force. I know."

Hardison and Parker came to stand beside him, which was cute in a weird way, but he really wished they would learn to stay out of the way when he might need to fight.

"What's the Air Force want with us?" Parker asked.

Emmagen looked at Sheppard, who was efficiently stripping weapons and wallets from the four assailants. "Well," he said, glancing up with a smile, "we were actually hoping to offer all of you a job. But maybe we should take this somewhere more private."

"A job?" Hardison asked, sounding incredulous.

"Indeed," Emmagen said. "However, it is somewhat...complicated."

"Isn't it always?" Eliot said with a sigh. "But I need a hint here before I go anywhere with you."

She studied him. "We did just help you."

"And can you prove that you didn't send them here in the first place?" Hardison asked.

Sheppard had been speaking quietly into a phone, but he looked up at that. "I like the way you think. You'll fit right in."

Emmagen smiled at that. "I believe that Sergeant Bates would have liked that kind of thinking as well."

"Yeah, he would have." Sheppard hung up his phone and shoved it in a pocket. "Look, we're not going to threaten or kidnap you. We really just want to talk to you. The biggest problem you'll face is whether to sign the classified information nondisclosure agreement."

Hardison scoffed. "Anything I want to know, I can find out."

"Not anything," Emmagen said. Something in her voice made Eliot look more closely at her. She was driving him nuts, because she was...off. Not right. She didn't move right.

Parker bounced up and down in place. "Oooh, I love secrets. I'll sign. I like to know things. It's almost as good as money."

Sheppard grinned. "There's a lot to learn. If you sign on with us, you'll get access to data you can't even begin to imagine."

Eliot could almost hear Hardison drooling. "And what's in it for me?"

Emmagen held out a hand. "Come with me and you'll get a chance to fight the biggest, baddest motherfuckers you've ever seen."

Everyone stared at her for a long moment. Sheppard finally broke off the paralysis to say, "Uh, Teyla, have you been talking to the Marines again?"

"Yes. Is there a problem?"

"I think we need to talk about appropriate language again."

Eliot shook his head. "Okay, we'll talk with you. I just hope I'm not going to live to regret this."

"You won't," Sheppard said.

Hardison snorted. "That's not actually comforting."

"It wasn't meant to be."

-end-


End file.
